HTS
HTTP Status Lookup
Find the meaning of an HTTP status code.
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How to use HTTP Status Lookup
Find the meaning of an HTTP status code.
- Enter a status code such as 404 or 500.
- Press Run to read its standard reason phrase and class.
- Use the 2xx, 3xx, 4xx or 5xx class to sanity-check what your API is returning.
When you actually reach for this
- You got a 4xx/5xx response and need to recall precisely what that code means and where to look.
- You are designing an API and want to pick the correct status for a given outcome (auth, validation, not found).
Where this tool stops being accurate
- The code tells you the class of problem, not the cause; a 400 can mean many things and the response body must explain it.
- Some frameworks and proxies invent non-standard codes or mask real ones, so trust the spec but verify behavior.
Frequently asked questions
What does HTTP Status Lookup do?
Find the meaning of an HTTP status code.
401 vs 403 — which do I return?
401 means unauthenticated (no/invalid credentials); 403 means authenticated but not allowed. Return 401 when login is missing, 403 when permission is the issue.
Is 422 better than 400 for validation errors?
422 (Unprocessable Content) signals "understood but semantically invalid," which is clearer for form validation than a generic 400. Both are acceptable; 422 is more precise.